Paul told NBC News in an interview that Democrats nominating a "war hawk" like Clinton would redefine the political balance between the two parties.

"If you want to see a transformational election, let the Democrats put forward a war hawk like Hillary Clinton, and you'll see a transformation like you've never seen," Paul said in an excerpt clip provided in advance of the Sunday airing of his interview on "Meet the Press."

Paul, a libertarian-leaning conservative, has staked out foreign policy positions less aggressive than many of his potential Republican rivals. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) have all backed President Barack Obama's ongoing airstrikes against jihadist forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq, but Paul said he had "mixed feelings" on the matter.

Meanwhile, Clinton, Obama's former secretary of state, has said the administration wasn't aggressive enough in certain elements of its foreign policy. Notably, she argued Obama should have armed more moderate Syrians, which she said might have stymied the recent ISIS surge.

Paul gave the "Meet the Press" interview in Guatemala, where he is currently on a medical mission.

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